Monday, April 28, 2014

April 28, 2014So this week was really really good and kinda stunk. my companion and i worked our tails off getting everything in order for this couple to get married so that they and their family could be baptized on Saturday. we did EVERYTHING. we spent so much money and time getting things in order it was crazy. we had hardly any time to visit anyone else or do anything else, and it all came down to thursday. Thursday they had to go to this place an hour away to attend some talk requisite for the marriage, and when it came down to it the dad ended up deciding that instead of just rushing things, to take it slow and blah blah blah. he had PLENTY of good reasons to do so. BUT we had prayed about the baptismal date so much and had overcome SO MANY obstacles to get to this point and then poof.......so he just said yeah we will do it next week...which is fine i know, but it really got us both down. it was a really big blow and we were pretty down for that day. But we recuperated and visited them the next day and its all good now. we keep visiting them a lot to make sure they are ready, and they are so incredible. They are such an awesome family, all of them have an intense desire to be baptized. I feel so privileged to be apart of this process and be an instrument in the lords hands. so this Saturday they are for sure for sure getting baptized, SO STOKED!!!! :):):):)

So as you may or may not know, I have been really down on myself for a while now. i just don't do stuff right. i forget to fill out the area book, i take too much time planning, i don't talk enough in lessons, I'm not great at finding out peoples needs and addressing them, the list goes on and on. my companion has clearly demonstrated much frustration on his end for my lack of ability and desire to do better. well i had desire, but because of everytime he would yell at me for stuff i would just get super down on myself. i mean there is only so much that you can take right? well no. he was telling me good things, i was just focusing on the wrong that i was doing and not focusing on how i can improve...or in other words i was just focusing on the negative of what i have already done wrong, and i was caught in the lie that i couldn't change and do better. That's what Satan does. that devil. seriously though, i am a confident guy, so why wasn't i being confident? i am personable, why wasn't i acting it? i love people, why wasn't i loving? because i was setting limits for myself. i was telling myself that i couldn't do better than what I've done. but that is so wrong. thanks to the atonement of Jesus Christ we can all do better than we did yesterday, or five minutes ago even. it doesn't matter. he erases our mistakes, and if we let him, he gives us power to be more than we can be on our own. i have such a strong testimony of the atonement, and the power therein. i know Christ can help all of us become better than we have been. even if we have done something a certain way for years and years!!!! the world tells us that you cant teach an old dog new tricks, but that's a lie. Christ tells us that we can become perfect like him. i love this gospel with all my heart and thank all of you for all the love and support that you show me! i hope everyone is doing great! love you all! talk to you later!

April 22, 2014(To decipher my son's cryptic letter I have put explanations in parentheses)LOVE YOU MOMMA!!!

sorry i didnt email last week! and yesterday i couldnt because we had no time and i could only write to the president. thank you SO MUCH for taking care of that for me! (Taxes)ugh youre the best!! yeah if everything goes as planned they are gonna get baptized this week!!! (Family of 9 they have been teaching) gosh im so excited for them. this has been the most wonderful experience meeting this family and helping them find the truth for themselves. so stoked.

that all sounds like so much fun!! (Easter)yeah i saw some of those videos on the MTC and they looked spectacular. really great job. (Church videos on Christ)

yeah i think candy is fine but like food isnt..and clothes arent..like used cothes though..idk for sure ill check into it. (New shipping rules to the Texas address)

thats a long trip! im sure he will have great success from it! (Eric going to Vietnam for 3 weeks)

(Abbie started drivers ed)gosh i cant believe she is so old....ahhh crazy. good for her though. i just know that it is SO IMPORTANT for youth at her age to gain a testimony. read the scriptures, meditate in your heart and pray to know the truth of what you have been studying or pondering. it is so so so crucial that she does that. i wish i would have at her age. i never did anything. i just ask you mom to help her gain her own testimony. i just relied on the testimony of you and dad for too many years, up to a certain age its okay, but then its necessary that we all find our own light.

i will have to explain the motorcycle thing next week im out of time, i love you mom!!! thank you for all that you do and i will let you know about the mothers day thing as soon as i have any information! have a great week! you deserve it momma bear!!

yesterday the dad of that family of 9....he got up AND BORE HIS TESTIMONY IN SACRAMENT MEETING............i cried. i just cried like a baby. the faith that this guy has. he got up, remember this is only his second sacrament meeting, and said that he knows that the church of the last saints is true. haha bless his heart. seriously probably the coolest most awesome person ever. he is such an inspiration for me. they are totally getting married this week and im so happy for them! i think the mission president is going to come to their baptism because no one has had a family like this before. haha super stoked!

Sunday, April 27, 2014

April 7, 2014So this week was just fantastic. I really learned SO MUCH from general conference. i had never paid attention like this in my life! it went by too fast!! i couldnt believe it when it was over. one thing that caught my attention the most was that of being courageous. in all times. in all places. even when its unpopular. do what is right and let the consequence follow. president monson related it to the time that Joseph Smith was in jail and stood up because the guards were being so incredibly crude and silenced them. it gave me so much strength. idk. i mean i could go on forever but i want to get on with what happend this week. oh well acutally we got to watch conference in englsih in a small room with the 4 other american missionaries and one guy who was just baptized last week named Caesar! he is awesome. he grew up in california in LA and so he has perfecr english it was great talking to him and hearing his incredible testimony and conversion story. so remember that family of 9??? yeah they totally accepted a baptismal date this week, but then we found out that they arent actually married, so the next day we prepped a lesson for that and read a proclamatino to the world to them and gave them a copy and asked them if they would get married, and while holding eachothers hands tight and with so much love in their eyes they said yes. never have i seen so much faith. i have never felt so much love. so much joy. to see them make this decision. it moved me to a place i dont think i have ever been spiritually. wow. they are incredible. when we gave him a book of mormon we asked him to read the introduction...two days later when we asked if he had read he said yeah a little bit, and we were like oh, thats fine how far did you get...wait for it...1 nephi 11. yeah this dude is bomb. i can just see it in his eyes when he feels the spirit. its incredible. their kids are so funny. all the hi chews you sent me we have been giving to them as a prize for answering questions and for being reverent haha its awesome and they love it. i teach the kids english and everything. anyway. i have to go. i love you all!!! i hope that you have a great week! thanks to the kids that sent me the pictures and testimonies. i cry every dang time that i read them haha. i love you all!!

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

March 31, 2014

Wow, sounds like a lot of fun stuff is happening! That's awesome! i'm super stoked for Kevin that all looks really cool! Haha talk radio 105.7 fm 570 am!! Oh the countless days I have spent listening to that crap. It's funny because I started missing my job!! So my comp only let me take this crappy picture, Oh and we don't have transfers!!! woohooo!! Super happy about that. But I want to share the AWESOME experience we had just yesterday. So well on Saturday night we went to go look for this one reference we had, it ended up being the wrong place, but we still contacted them and got to know them and started teaching and this is a family with 7 kids under the age of 13!! And this guy was SOOOO happy and nice and he told us right away that he just felt really peaceful and happy with us being there and that he wanted to feel that more, and so we invited him to church the next day and he said he would really like that. So we went by in the morning and he told us he woke up at 5am to prep everything for his work so that he could go!! And we helped him out with that and helped all the kids and stuff and their whole family of 9 came to church!!! I sat by him in sacrament and explained certain stuff and asked him how he felt and he said that he wants his family to go to this church and they attended all their classes. We are so lucky to have amazing members here! They fellowshipped this family so well! All the kids loved primary and were showing me all the fun things they made and all this awesome stuff! My joy was so full I was just smiling HUGE all day long. But really I have never seen such great faith and the willingness to act on the promptings of the spirit. It was just indescribable to watch this humble man. But here is a picture of us driving to church with all the kids in the truck bed. Super duper cool stuff that I just wanted to share with you all!!! I love you all! The gospel is true and miracles REALLY happen. I am a witness. I love this work!!!

love

Elder Glenn

(This was to his dad)

Thank you so much for your love and support. It's funny because I thought I understood what it meant to go through something hard before...and I mean I did go through hard things before I guess....but NOTHING like this. Holy crap haha Elder Minquiz told me of a talk he heard that they said that people think they have it hard...go through a day as a missionary and then come talk to me about what hard is. Haha! seriously is so true though sometimes, it's not easy. thank you so much for setting the example for me dad, you always told me how important your mission was for you and I knew that thats was what I wanted, it just took me a while to figure it out. But thank you so much for always being a worthy priesthood holder and the amazing father that you are. I will continue to work as hard as I can and help our brothers and sisters come unto christ! love you dad!

It's great to hear everyone is doing well....gosh I miss Daniel, that little turd. I really have like zero time to write, I have had to write to the mission president and stuff and so yeah. anyway. I wish I could be going to Les Mis!! so jealous. So this week we had interviews with the mission president and it really helped to talk to through some of the depression I have been having. I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER. like loads. and I have made a bunch of really good goals that have been helping me a ton. But in the interview he asked about if I do my exercise in the mornings and I told him what I do. He then asked how many push up I could do...well I don't just do straight push ups I do other things to strengthen, but I could probably do 100. He wanted me to prove it because many people in the mission have said that they can but never prove it. I told him that I had already done my workout that morning and that I was burned out but I sure would try because he said that if I could do it then he would buy me lunch wherever I want!! So I did it, totally got 100 and he clapped and laughed and bought me lunch. Totes on his good side. haha. Anyway one of my goals has been to ONLY speak in spanish, which is difficult when I'm around other americans, but I have successfully done it this week and I have seen a HUGE difference. I feel like I am slowly finding myself ´in spanish´ if that makes sense. Also my spanish has been improving like mad fast as I do it. So remember that family of 5 that came to sacrament, well we have been working SUPER hard on them and we finally got them to accept a baptismal date!! Oh my goodness the joy I had that night was indescribable, I love these people so much, and seeing them make the decision to make covenants with our Heavenly Father is the greatest thing I have ever done. I have been learning so much about being proactive and stuff. I always used to just do things because I was supposed to or whatever, now I have desires to go out of my way to do more and to really magnify this sacred calling of being a servant of the lord. I love this work and I'll try and get some pictures to send this week!!

love you all

(I have asked him 3 times if he got his birthday package)

Yeah I got it! thanks! it was great! haha except you guys and alyssa sent me funfetti mix and we don't have an oven....so I'm just holding on to it till I get one! This is my last week of training!!! I might possibly be training a new missionary next week which would be nuts but I would learn SO MUCH. My comp thinks I will train because he says I'm a better missionary than him haha. He is great, he actually reminds me a lot of you dad. I am teaching him english so he can come visit us after and meet you

March 17, 2014Hey I have literally no time to write. Sorry. Our schedule was a mess today. Right now all I care about is how in the world I'm gonna help all my investigators to want to make covenants with our Heavenly Father. I love you. I love everyone. I'll be honest I have been pretty depressed lately, but I find that as I just let go of myself more and trust in the Lord, and it's little by little, that I feel better. I never have really had this kind of depression, and I really think that its just Satan trying to get at me and bring me down because he knows of the potential that I have and how much I'm going to do. Anyway, something funny, I do coin tricks and magic for all the kids. THEY LOVE IT haha and you can bet that I do my weird arms over the head crap and body tricks at like EVERY house haha they think I'm the weirdest white guy ever probably but the kids love me haha I don't really have anymore time to write. I'll try and take pictures and all that fun stuff and get you a better letter next week. Love YOU!!!

March 10, 2014aghghgh this week has been incredible and difficult. We had a family of 5 come to church!!! oh we have been working with them since the day I got here and they finally came!! they are keeping all their commitments to read and pray and everything. they went from being so opposed to everything to now wanting to be members! It's truly a miracle and a blessing. to see the light in their eyes as they feel the spirit and watch their testimonies grow. It's the most incredible joy I've ever experienced. I love doing this work! I'm so blessed to have a companion that always pushes me to do better. I have been pretty depressed for the last few weeks...I don't know why but I just feel like I cant be me ´in spanish´ if that makes sense. Like I can't be the outgoing fun weird person I am. So I have been down, but I realized that isn't true and that if I just forget about my fears and worries and just TRUST in Christ I can do anything. and I can be the missionary that he wants me to be...well that's all for this week I guess... love you all!!

Elder Glenn

I will be serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Chihuahua, Mexico. I report to the Provo, UT MTC on Nov. 20, 2013

Contact info:

Email:jacob.glenn@myldsmail.netSnail Mail:Mexico Chihuahua MissionHuancune 1801-BColonia Panoramico31110 Chihuahua, ChihuahuaMexicoYou can also do Dear elder.com, just choose his mission and they will print it out at the mission home and get it to him. It sounds like they deliver things to him in his area about 1-2 times a month.